Local tax measures approved

ELECTION 2008: Bay Area

Christopher Heredia, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PST, Thursday, February 7, 2008

Workers will begin patching dilapidated streets in El Cerrito, police and libraries in Richmond will get a boost and public safety services will be funded in San Mateo County after voters approved tax measures on Tuesday.

In El Cerrito, voters approved Measure A, which raises the city's sales tax by a half-percent - to 8.75 percent - to pay for much needed street maintenance. The added tax will generate $1.2 million a year for repairing and repaving city streets, city officials said.

Road crews will start fixing streets in late spring, said Jerry Bradshaw, the city's public works director. More than 71 percent of the city's voters supported the measure, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.

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"I'm thrilled the citizens decided this was important enough to give us this mandate," said Bradshaw.

The tax increase takes effect July 1. The City Council will issue bonds to generate an additional $10 million for road resurfacing in the next four years, Bradshaw said. Including state and federal funds, the city plans to spend $17 million to bring El Cerrito's streets up to par in the next five years.

The additional revenue is sorely needed, he said, adding that El Cerrito's streets ranked among the worst in a recent survey of cities by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's transportation planning agency.

"By the end of this summer we will be doing patches all through the city," Bradshaw said. "We're going to start with the worst and work our way up."

City officials anticipate the additional money will help them resurface most of the city's 68 miles of roadway in town. "It's going to get us back to where we want to be, to something we can be proud of," Bradshaw said.

In Richmond, voters agreed to continue a city tax on telephone and cable services and update the fee so that it includes telecommunication devices that have been created since the tax began in 1994. Measure B, which required majority approval, received 74 percent of the vote.

The tax will generate $6.6 million each year to help pay for police, firefighters, libraries and road repairs, city officials said.

"We're absolutely pleased," said James Goins, Richmond's finance director. "Had voters not passed it we could have lost significant revenue for essential services."

On the Peninsula, voters in the unincorporated San Mateo Highlands area agreed to continue a tax for fire and police services. The $65 parcel tax - which needed a two-thirds majority to pass -helps cover the county's cost for providing law enforcement and fire protection for the community's 5,000 residents.

The tax remains in effect for four years. Measure I passed with 74.5 percent of the vote.